


Fireworks

by I_See_Fire



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst, Apartment sharing, Asexual Characters, Background Pairings (starring rarepairs), Bars, College, Different Points of View, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Humanstuck, In which Dave and Rose are not related, Lots of that, M/M, Multi, New Years celebrations, Tank Tops in Freezing Weather, The Pyropes and the Serkets live together, third person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-13 08:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3374219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_See_Fire/pseuds/I_See_Fire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They met at a bar, as the clock was closing in on midnight on New Year's Eve. </p><p>They met at a university, brick buildings reaching high into the sky. </p><p>They met once as children and then again as adults, in a cramped apartment building with naught but four eyed cats to witness their reunion. </p><p>Three duos, with no idea what lies in store for them. In any case, the road to happiness is filled with potholes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fireworks

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! 
> 
> Welcome to this fic, I hope you'll like it :) I'm afraid there's no real update schedule yet, but I'll try to update whenever I can. 
> 
> Dave and Rose are not related. 
> 
> In some cases, such as with Terezi and Vriska, human versions of the lusii are raising them. In other cases, such as with Karkat, Signless is raising him. I will do my best to make it clear which is which in the chapter, or mention it in the notes. For example, Pyra is Pyralspite. 
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading!!
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at feferithecuttlefish.tumblr.com

They met at a bar, as the clock was closing in on midnight on New Year's Eve. They were both buzzed, drunk off too many fruity drinks, in his case, and too many shots, in hers. Somehow, they ended up sitting next to each other. A strange pair they made; a boy with a Ghostbusters shirt, messy black hair, and bright blue eyes, and a girl with blonde hair dyed blue, cobalt eyes, and red high-tops.

The boy was clapping and cheering along with the rest of the crowd from his precarious seat on the edge of a barstool as the timer on the wall counted down. The girl just looked amused, and a little bored. New Years came every year, and she was only there because her friend had dragged her out of the room they shared. Where her friend was then, she wasn't sure. Probably in a bathroom, torturing innocent passersby. That thought brought a faint smile to her blue-painted lips. She would probably have to intervene at some point, pull Terezi away from the interrogation of people who just wanted to take a piss in peace. But for then, she sat on the counter, watching as red numbers moved downward, moving past twenty, nineteen, eighteen...

The boy glanced around for his friends, and found none. They were probably making out in dark corners or mingling with dancing bodies slick with glitter paste and sweat. He should probably go find them, he knew, but he might miss the final few seconds of the old year in his search. So there he stayed, deciding that twenty seconds wasn't too long of a delay. On a sudden impulse, he turned to the girl sitting beside him. She had been next to him almost the whole night, and he still hadn't said a word to her. Well, better late than never!

He stuck out a hand, giving her a bright grin. "John!" He introduced himself above the thumping bass of the music and the voices that filled the air around them.

She raised an eyebrow at him as he addressed her, unsure as to why he had suddenly decided to talk to her. But she didn't particularly care about his reasons. Her mind was full of words and her blood sang with alcohol, and hell if he wasn't kind of cute.

So, she put her hand in his and shook it, the callouses and scars on her hands rubbing against the hard patches on his own. They both had seen work, spent hours toiling over something. The lines that marred her skin each had a story, an individual tale. Maybe his did too. Or perhaps they were simply the result of too much yard work. His hand was warm, though, and she knew hers was icy cold.

"Vriska." She replied, dropping his hand after five seconds exactly. Five, the number her mother had drilled into her. Eight was too long, five was professional. Firm grip, don't be a dead fish.

The blue eyed boy grinned at her, resting his freed hand on his leg. He tapped out rhythms there, almost obsessively, movements practiced. He continued speaking, words matching the rhythm he beat out on his knee. Staccato sounds, then flowing sentences. "It's nice to meet you, Vriska! That's a weird name, I've never heard of it before. Sounds kind of freaky!"

Vriska rolled her eyes, glancing heavenward. "Original," she replied. "What kind of a name is John? Isn't everyone and their dog named that?"

John laughed, nodding as everyone around them started counting down from ten. "Yeah, I don't know what my dad was thinking!" He tipped his head back, the ceiling flickering with glitter and a myriad of rainbows. Then, he rolled his head to look to her, grin glinting in the lights. "Seriously, though, pleasure to meet you, girl with weird name!"

"Same to you, generic boy." Vriska replied, just as the bells began to clang, air horns deafening the crowd and cheers adding to the already suffocating atmosphere.

"Happy New Year, by the way." John added as an afterthought. She chuckled, returning the sentiment at a lower volume. She was about to continue, perhaps to make some snide comment about another year they'd never get back, when he leaned over, pressing his lips to hers almost clumsily. He tasted like alcohol and pineapple, and she kissed back, unable to find it in herself to care as their glasses clinked. It was New Years. They had a time honored tradition to uphold.

After a few moments, they broke away, returning to their seats as if nothing had happened. There was glitter caught in her hair from it being tossed haphazardly around the bar, and it stained his glasses and cheeks.

Vriska hopped off of her stool, brushing confetti off of her shirt. Terezi was just emerging from the back, grinning at a girl with a cat beanie. "Hey, 'Rezi!" She called out. The blind girl made a beeline for Vriska, linking arms with her and starting to jabber on. A shark-like grin quirked the corners of her mouth as she did so, walking towards the door and waving in the general direction of the cat girl. Vriska, in turn, gave John a grin and a wave, before exiting the bar as Terezi mouthed for the newest victim of her friendship to call her, making the time honored and extremely cheesy hand motion. Giggles and laughter followed them out, and Vriska spared a glance back to the blue eyed boy. Someone with blonde hair and aviators had taken her place, and they were talking about something that made John's ears turn red and his eyes brighten.

Vriska faced forward again, walking towards her motorcycle with Terezi and listening to her jabber on, occasionally interjecting with a comment--both teasing and snide issued from her mouth.

"So who was that girl back there?" Vriska questioned as she swung skinny jean-clad legs over the seat, revving the engine. Terezi clung to her from behind, fingers digging into Vriska's sides and leaving indents in the cloth of her shirt.

"Her names Nepeta!" Terezi answered over the wind that suddenly picked up, and then she laughed as Vriska's hair was blown into her mouth. "Your hair tastes good!"

"Damn it, Terezi, no eating my hair!" The motorcycle roared down the street, tread marks marring the graying slush that some called snow. 

"Can't stop me now!" Terezi tilted her head back, gripping the bike with her legs. She threw her hands out, wind rushing over them, whooping at the stars she couldn't see. "Happy New Year!" She yelled to the city, sparking laughter from the other woman.

"Say it louder, I don't know if the whole city heard you!"

"Yell it with me and maybe they will!"

As they paused at a red light, Vriska too threw her hands in the air, screaming Happy New Year to the sky and city lights, Terezi's voice mixing with hers. They got a few calls back, a few strange looks from the cars beside them. Vriska ignored those in favor of revving the engine as the light switched and then shooting straight onward.

"Who was that blueberry person back there?" Terezi questioned as they sped on, wind whipping at them.

"His name's John." Vriska answered, shoving her glasses back up her nose.

"Not the most generic name ever. Not even Jonathan?"

Vriska shrugged at that. "I have no clue, all he said was that he was a John. And I said that!" She said with a grin.

"Did you get his number or anything?" Vriska could imagine Terezi's eyebrows wiggling at her as she said that, despite facing the road and not her. It was still bright due to all of the lights, the road shiny with slush and ice. It had taken years for her to learn to not fall--winter was Vriska's least favorite season.

She shook her head, making a turn onto another road. "No. You got Nepeta's though, I saw."

Terezi grinned again, nodding in response. "Hella. It's on my hand! See?" She stuck her hand in front of Vriska's face. Vriska got a face-full of cherry scented hand sanitizer and olive, crooked handwriting, and for a moment she couldn't see anything.

"Terezi!" Vriska exclaimed, shoving her hand down just in time to swerve away from a truck. It beeped at them as it skidded by, both parties safe--for then, at least. Vriska rolled her eyes, leaning her head back to bump Terezi's face, finding quickly that it wasn't the best idea as her hair caught briefly on the redhead's glasses. "You almost killed us right there!"

"Almost did, not quite!" Terezi laughed, the sound carried away by the wind as she pushed Vriska's head away. "Loosen up, silly!"

Vriska rolled her eyes again, before making a sharp turn in revenge, forcing Terezi to hold onto her waist. She grinned a little as they started down their street. The snow-slicked road was in no way unique, dark apartment buildings scattered along the sides. Strange tenants resided in them, the scents of weed and dust strong in the air. Rickety stairs and cold concrete walls were integral to the residents lives.

Stray cats and dogs that never stopped barking made up their wildlife, nothing worthy of National Geographic--although the sheer amount of them and the moss that grew literally everywhere may have been more noteworthy. Weeds and salt filled the cracks in the sidewalks.

At the very end of the street, there was a small house, painted the same bright red as the stop sign that rusted away right next to it. A slightly overgrown garden resided next to it, along with a driveway covered in chalk drawings. It was the lone bright spot of the street, though even its color was dulled by the yellow streetlights and faint stars. Home sweet home, the words came to Vriska's mind as she pulled into the driveway, parking and yanking the key from its place. She hopped off, Terezi following after her.

"Mom, Pyra, we're home," Vriska yelled as she unlocked the door and they stepped in. Mumbling welcomed them from the back rooms as Terezi instantly flopped down on the couch, mumbling about how the room smelled too dark.

"You're blind, 'Rez, everything's dark to you." Vriska teased, picking up a pillow from an armchair to toss it at her sister (in everything but blood). "At least pull out your fuckin' bed, it'll make your life a hell of a lot more comfortable."

"But Vrissy, I'm just a poor, blind girl. How can you expect me to do such a difficult thing?" Terezi said, her words muffled by the pillows. She popped her head up, giving Vriska a sharp grin and a sightless attempt at puppy dog eyes.

"You're capable of getting phone numbers but not of making beds?" Vriska teased, picking up another pillow to play with the tassels. "You gonna call her, speaking of which?"

"Not tonight, no, it's dark as fuck! And anyway, it's midnight, who calls people at midnight?" Terezi stood up, moving the cushions from one couch and pulling her bed out, gripping the black, cold metal bar. The bed came out with a creak and a clank, stretching out onto the ground. She flopped onto that instead, facing the ceiling. Glow in the dark stars strained to give some relief to the room, the faint green light doing little to help. "You, probably."

"Where is your faith in me, I'm much nicer than that. Go to sleep already, then," Vriska said with a grin, tossing the pillow down and going to take care of her nightly ritual--remove pants, brush teeth, hide glasses where they wouldn't be stepped on. In that order, of course.

When all was done, lights turned off and doors closed and bed pulled out, Vriska finally laid down and closed her eyes, curled on her side, head on a pillow stained with blue and red. She slipped into a deep slumber, a certain blue eyed boy taking over her dreams of flying and pirate ships.

She was awoken by blinding light shining in her eyes and obnoxious giggling being shushed loudly and ineffectually. 

"Holy shit, let me sleep, Mom!"


End file.
